Eclectic, lo-fi indie rock. Edgy, rhythmic, melodic, experimental, and intelligent.

14 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Modern Rock, POP: Beatles-pop



Details:
You are looking at the new Mystics Anonymous CD. It explores a wide range of musical styles, from straight-ahead rock to Beatles-esque pop, spoken word, funk/groove, piano and voice, and dance. It is experimental, yet melodic. It defies labels. It should be listened to LOUD or with headphones. It's about an hour long, and it wants to be friends with you because you're special. This is independent music at its best - free, unfettered, willing to go anywhere and do anything.

Mystics Anonymous is the name of singer/songwriter/composer Jeff Steblea's musical project, defined by its adventurous eclecticism, defiant independence, and restless creative ambition. "With Mystics," says Steblea, "the whole point was to establish a project where nothing is off-limits." Although Mystics has an eclectic nature, Steblea's distinctive voice and songwriting skill are the glue that holds Mystics together and keeps its sound unique.

Former lead vocalist for alternative jam outfit Go Figure, Steblea released the first Mystics Anonymous CD, focusing on a Jazz Folk Rock hybrid, in October of 1998. Two more CDs followed: a limited edition mail-order CD called The Brutality of Beauty, and Middle Distance, an instrumental score for the 2003 art exhibition Of the Earth, which blended sound manipulation, drumming/percussion, and groove rhythms to evoke the vast American southwestern landscape.

For the new CD, Mystics leader Jeff Steblea continues his predilection for exploring different musical styles. Just as he explored a Jazz Folk Rock hybrid on the debut CD, Winsted in the Space Room finds him focusing on lo-fi studio experimentation and concise song structures. While the debut CD focused on the virtuoso and improvisational talents of Jeff's guest musicians, Winsted concentrates on the compositions themselves. Creating this CD mostly alone in his Gondwanaland studio, Steblea turns in an edgy, unique CD steeped in indie aesthetic. Winsted in the Space Room also showcases the eclectic nature of Mystics Anonymous music, as it transitions smoothly from rock music to spoken word, piano, Beatles-esque pop, electronica, and funky faux-lounge/jazz grooves.

Mystics Anonymous music has garnered college, public, and commercial radio airplay in the United States and abroad. It has invited comparisons to myriad artists, including but not limited to The Beatles, Beck, David Bowie, Camper Van Beethoven, The Doors, Robyn Hitchcock, John Lurie, Dave Matthews Band, Phish, R.E.M., The Smiths, and Yo La Tengo. It expresses emotions and observations, but with a smirk. This is the music of now. If it was a writer, it would be a cross between Jack Kerouac and Don DeLillo. If it was a film director, a cross between David Lynch and Quentin Tarantino.